Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Lapo Pistelli/Facebook
A SUDANESE WOMAN who was spared a death sentence for converting from Islam and who was then barred from leaving the African country has arrived in Italy after spending over a month in the US embassy in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, the BBC reports.
27-year-old Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag was sentenced to death in May for apostasy from Islam, under Islamic sharia law that has been in force in Sudan since 1983 and outlaws conversions on pain of death.
An appeals court later quashed the verdict and sentence.
Her case has raised questions of religious freedom and sparked deep concern among Western governments and human rights activists.
Ishag was born to a Muslim father who abandoned the family, leaving her to be raised by her Ethiopian Orthodox Christian mother, according to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Khartoum, which said she joined the Catholic church shortly before she married.
According to the Reuters report on her arrival in Italy, there are no clear details at the moment on what led up to her departure from Khartoum.
There’s been no comment from the Sudanese authorities as yet either.
Lapo Pistelli, Italy’s vice-minister for foreign Affairs, posted the above photo of himself with Ishag and her children on his Facebook as they were descending into Rome.
Includes reporting from AFP.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Thank god she’s safe..
Good news, really good news, at last
A good result and well done to all who helped her.
‘Was she spared because of international pressure because she is a woman? And Christian?’ What are you talking about?Christians are the single most persecuted group in the Middle East,and it’s likely soon there will be none left.The Christians of Mosul who were given a choice by ISIS.Pay Jizya or die.Pretty all of them chose to flee.
Seen as the Journal has not seen fit to post an article of the event,here is a first hand accouunt;
‘On Friday, Mosul’s mosques called through loudspeakers for Christians to leave, after centuries of being part of the once cosmopolitan city’s social fabric. … Islamic State (IS) militants robbed departing Christians of their belongings, he [White's contact] said, leaving them to face destitution in grim camps for the displaced.
“They were stopped by members of Islamic State, who took everything they had. Mobile phones, money, jewellery,” he said, speaking of the fate of some 25 Christian families who had recently fled.
“When my cousin and friends, from three families, tried to plead with them, they took their cars.”…”From one old woman they took $15,000 (11,100 euros). She asked for just $100 of it so she could reach Dohuk. They told her that these are the funds of the Islamic State, and we cannot give it to you,” Fadi said.
Robbed of their cars and cash, many Christians were forced to walk to safety….Ahlam, a 34-year-old mother of two boys, and her husband carried their children on their shoulders on their long march out of Mosul.
She described an exodus of hundreds of Christians walking on foot in Iraq’s searing summer heat, the elderly and the disabled among them….According to the IS statement, seen by AFP, any homes they leave behind become property of the insurgent group.”
Thank god. Also lucky she didn’t come here and get placed in mosney under direct provision system to spend next five years waiting for her claim to be processed while getting 19.10 per week to live on. Hopefully she’ll be treated with the respect she deserves.
I’d say she would of happily took that option over Sudan! Should we put her up in the Shelbourne and bring her to the races?
Mosney or death? Hmmmm
No need to treat her like a politician Look at John o donoghue for reference there. But I think to be placed under a death sentence for your religion and then placed in direct provision for multiple years would probably lead you to wonder what on earth you’d done to deserve such a life. Don’t you think she’d be happy enough to be able to go from a to b unmolested and look after her kids. It’s not her fault she was born where she was.
If she was in direct provision I doubt that she would have been there for 5 years seeing as she would have come in with her real passport and an easily verifiable case. The people who get stuck in direct provision for 5 years are the ones who magically “lose ” their documents and then can’t verify who they are.
So the people in direct provision are actually from good countries where it’s easy to just pop down to the post office and apply for a passport using the speedy service. And the millions they have are actually stashed away on off shore banks, the cunning swine. They had me fooled there. Thanks for clearing that up for me. If you can put a link to a eu or similer document I’d be greatful. Thanks in advance.
Sol who said anything about millions stashed away? What are you on about getting a passport in the post office for? Offshore banks?
How can someone get on a plane without a passport and then “lose” the passport en-route and can never find it or another replacement? If they get rejected they spend more time in direct provision while the taxpayer spends a small fortune on free legal aid trying to get someone who entered the country illegally to be allowed to stay legally.
Get the right visas/docs, go through legal channels and you won’t spend 5 years in direct provision.
Maybe some of these people aren’t in a position to go and get a passport in their respective countries. If for example you had the local police kicking down your door looking for bribes and threatening you with a machete you may decide the best thing is to leave. The person was implying that the refugees in direct provision were scammers only here to take advantage of us. I’ve spent time in a voluntary capacity with refugees and I can tell you first-hand that they are some of the kindest hardworking people you can meet.
Delighted to hear that she and her family can start a life in safety.
I think apparently she never was a muslim. She was always a Christian, could be wrong there. And what’s to say that the political climate changed to the hardline one it is now during her lifetime. Anyway it seems that she is an educated woman self employed mother of two small kids. Not really a threat to us. Perhaps even an asset.
Was she spared because of international pressure because she is a woman? And Christian? I’d say probably.
Meanwhile 186 male children have been missing and kidnapped in Syria.
No-onecares.com
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/26/186-kurdish-students-kidnapped-isis-syria
‘Was she spared because of international pressure because she is a woman? And Christian?’ What are you talking about?Christians are the single most persecuted group in the Middle East,and it’s likely soon there will be none left.The Christians of Mosul who were given a choice by ISIS.Pay Jizya or die.Pretty all of them chose to flee.
Seen as the Journal has not seen fit to post an article of the event,here is a first hand accouunt;
‘On Friday, Mosul’s mosques called through loudspeakers for Christians to leave, after centuries of being part of the once cosmopolitan city’s social fabric. … Islamic State (IS) militants robbed departing Christians of their belongings, he [White's contact] said, leaving them to face destitution in grim camps for the displaced.
“They were stopped by members of Islamic State, who took everything they had. Mobile phones, money, jewellery,” he said, speaking of the fate of some 25 Christian families who had recently fled.
“When my cousin and friends, from three families, tried to plead with them, they took their cars.”…”From one old woman they took $15,000 (11,100 euros). She asked for just $100 of it so she could reach Dohuk. They told her that these are the funds of the Islamic State, and we cannot give it to you,” Fadi said.
Robbed of their cars and cash, many Christians were forced to walk to safety….Ahlam, a 34-year-old mother of two boys, and her husband carried their children on their shoulders on their long march out of Mosul.
She described an exodus of hundreds of Christians walking on foot in Iraq’s searing summer heat, the elderly and the disabled among them….According to the IS statement, seen by AFP, any homes they leave behind become property of the insurgent group.”
I see Norway is on high alert: ( journal report is in the way I’m sure)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Norway’s intelligence service said Thursday it has received information about an imminent “concrete threat” against Norway from people with links to Islamic fighters in Syria.
@Scipio
She was spared because of a media campaign. It is that simple. Nice rant, though. She was ‘picked’ because she is Christian and female. That’s a nice poster child for western media. Near 200 boys were kidnapped, yet, western media has actively chosen to ignore it. It is a conscious decision. It always is. That why you get ’100 days later’ articles here and elsewhere when girls are abducted, and nothing at all when 200 boys are abducted.
‘She was spared because of a media campaign’ It sounds like you have a problem with this?
I have a problem with selective media campaigns, yes. What about the others that will die and don’t receive media exposure because Daragh and Co – the rest of Western media – don’t report on it?
Are you for example, only commenting on this story because you yourself are Catholic?
When you use the phrase “what about”, you’ve already lost the argument.
I’m commenting on this story because an innocent young mother
was going to be executed for apostasy,unlike you who is here solely to engage in whataboutery,and little else.
The difference is Syria is a warzone.Atrocities are being committed theere everyday,so those stories and that one you mentioned was reported by Western media,do not generate as much interest among the public.Anyway this story highlights the problem of the death penalty for apostates,which is widepread in the Islamic world,but is still realatively unknown in the West.In my opinion,that can only be a good thing.
Niall o’ Sullivan What about the Christian girls in Nigeria?? Still missing! Also ISIL thugs killed hundreds of Assyrian Christian and noone cared, no need to talk about the priests were beheaded… Apart from this thousands of Shias, Kurds and Turkmens have been killed… haven’t seen any protest in Europe yet! and now you are talking about she got attention because her religion??
Thank Allah she is safe.
Use the word ‘God’ and get 85 green thumbs and counting. Use the word ‘Allah’ and get red thumbed to oblivion despite the article being a snapshot of religious intolerance and the are two words being names for the exact same deity.
Stay classy Journal readers.
Your trolling attempts are too obvious.Try being a little more subtle.
Not trolling as such. Genuinely wanted to see the difference in reaction. Let’s call it a social experiment.
And you’re dead right, Neil. Spot on.
Actually, there’s a difference between Allah and the Christian understanding of God. So to say ‘Tthank Allah she is safe’ implies you’re thanking the Muslim God, which is quite insensitive as she was very nearly killed for not believing in said God… Just typing those two sentences reminds me of the stupidity of religions.
That’s right Daithi and Neil is either willingly trolling or is just a plain idiot.Christians in Malaysia can now be imprisoned for using the word Allah in relation to their God.
Actually Daithí ‘Allah’ is also used by Arab Christians (probably by the woman in the story even). Also ‘God’ is not exclusive to Christians. Quoting a Malaysian court ruling to back up your claim is hilarious – that ruling was as political as it was religious.
Truth is God is an idea. The one true deity for each religion and not a readily identifiable person that can be distinguished between each religion’s idea of an almighty. The only difference is that Christians believe in the trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) while Muslims believe in the One (Allah, or God) but they are the same god according to the scripture of the Old Testament.
‘ that ruling was as political as it was religious.’ Yes and Islam is the most politcal of all religions.
Neil, Christians are not allowed to use ‘Allah’ by the court order:) tbh, i gave you a red thumb coz i tho http://time.com/2910780/malaysias-highest-court-upholds-ban-on-christians-using-the-word-allah/
tbh, i gave you a red thumb coz i thought you were trying to make an anti-muslim point…
Actually Mustafa I was making a pro-Muslim point. The contrast in reaction between thanking God and thanking Allah speaks for itself.
Malaysia is pretty much an Islamic state – using one biased court ruling and applying it as law the world over doesn’t really cut it.
And Scipio – that’s a ridiculous statement to make. Look at history and how the Christian church has influenced not only Ireland’s political policies but many other countries’ around the world. Look at the (lack of) legislation surround Abortion in this country and tell me Christianity isn’t politically charged.
Sort your own house out before you condemn others’.
Look at history and look at the present day situation involving countries that have an Islamic ethos in comparison to secular or culturally Christian nations.There is no comaprison really and the abortion issue,which will soon be resolved,is small fry comnpared to the issues that Islamic countries have.
Only the worst kind of cutural relatavist would not acknowledge this.
Okay, I’m going to wade into this trollery again. So you’re concluding that thanking Allah receiving more red thumbs than thanking God implies religious intolerance. Allah is the arabic word for God (often used by Arabic speaking Christians e.g. Copts in Egypt). So it’s a little strange to intermix English words with an arabic word for God. This strange occurence in your comment would lead people to think you’re specifically thanking the Muslim God, which is commonly called Allah. And since this woman suffered very badly because of ‘Allah’, this is quite a provocative and insensitive statement (hence the red thumbs). We’re all aware of the similarities across the different Abrahamic faiths. They’re all as nonsensical as each other.
Maybe you should go to a non Muslim country
before converting.
Seeing how they do not seem to like people who leave their religion.
By wanting to kill them and such.
Damo. She was raised as a Christian but because her Father was a Muslim the Government took the stance that if her Father was a Muslim therefore she must be and as such converted to Christianity.
have your say